Help! I’ve got Windows 8 and I miss my Start menu!

We take a look at some of the Start menu alternatives for Windows 8.

With Christmas now long behind us, one or two of you may well have been lucky enough to find a shiny new Windows 8 PC under the tree. After cleaning off the crapware, it's time to use the thing, and that means digging into the new user interface.

The Windows 8 user interface has many Windows users divided. The chief complaints are that Windows 8 has no Start button and that it has no Start menu, only the (full-screen, Metro-styled) Start screen. Secondary to these is the complaint that Windows 8 shows the Start screen immediately after logging in, rather than showing the desktop as prior versions of Windows have done. Getting to the desktop takes an extra click.

To address the unfamiliarity and (perceived) problems with the Windows 8 UI, a number of third-party applications have popped up to provide a Start menu, or some approximation thereof, and a Start button for Windows 8 users. They also pull some kind of trickery to switch directly to the desktop upon logging in.

Some of these applications are new, motivated entirely by Windows 8's supposed "shortcomings"—Stardock's Start8, StartIsBack, and RetroUI all share this characteristic. Others are new versions of old apps. Classic Shell was originally a project to reinstate the Windows XP Start menu on Windows Vista and Windows 7 (among other things); it now has some Windows 8-specific functionality. Pokki is an application runtime, launcher, and marketplace; in its latest iteration it too jumps on the Start screen replacement bandwagon.

If you can't stomach the lack of menu and button in Windows 8 or just don't fancy the support and training overheads that come from rolling out a new user interface to users familiar with Windows 7 or older, one of these apps might be the ideal solution.

StartIsBack

Enlarge/ StartIsBack in action. Imperceptibly different from the Windows 7 original.

When it comes to providing an authentic Start-like experience, the clear winner is StartIsBack. The StartIsBack Start button and menu look all but identical to their Windows 7 versions. The developer claims that although the Start menu isn't accessible in Windows 8, Microsoft had to leave most of the implementation and plumbing in the operating system for backwards compatibility reasons. StartIsBack taps into these hidden capabilities to provide a Start menu experience that will be immediately familiar to anyone who has used prior versions of Windows. It has the right look (down to the glowing hover effect when the mouse cursor is over the Start button) and offers the same features, including integrated search and highlighting of newly installed applications.

The range of options and settings for StartIsBack is similarly authentic, although the layout of those options is not.

Enlarge/ StartIsBack takes the traditional Windows 7 Start menu settings and sticks them in a window.

On top of this genuine Start menu experience, StartIsBack provides some control over Windows 8 features. Logging in direct to the desktop is the most important for those wanting to turn Windows 8 into Windows 7, and StartIsBack duly provides that option. Beyond that, StartIsBack allows you to disable the hot corners. With StartIsBack you can still have access to the Start screen if you want; you can also elect to remove all desktop apps from the Start screen, making it a launcher solely for Metro-style apps.

Metro does still poke through occasionally. The Win+Tab combination still invokes the new Metro app switcher rather than Flip3D. Similarly, Win+F takes you to the new Metro search screen rather than an Explorer search window. StartIsBack also doesn't do anything to reinstate desktop functionality for things that have been moved into the Metro universe; clicking your network connection still shows a Metro-esque panel, adding a Bluetooth device still takes you to the Metro Settings app, and so on. Nonetheless, this is the best Windows 7 workalike if that's what you're after.

Metro poking through here and there is a common feature of all these applications. If you simply can't abide by seeing any aspects of the Metro interface on your desktop PC, none of these applications will make Windows 8 good enough for your preferences.

Licenses for StartIsBack start from $3 per PC, with a free 30-day trial. The app can be installed and used as a regular unprivileged user. When running, it doesn't even create any extra processes; it just loads an extra DLL into the Explorer process that Windows always runs anyway.

Start8

Another near-exact clone of the Start menu is found with Stardock's Start8. I haven't poked around too deeply in the internals of this app, but from the look and feel of it, it's using the same technique as StartIsBack. Namely, it takes Windows' own remnants of legacy Start menu code to provide an authentic-looking, fully functional Start menu. There are some minor differences: Start8 includes a special Start menu entry that opens the Start screen, and it has a small glitch in its shutdown menu, but aside from that, there's nothing to choose between them.

Enlarge/ Start8's shutdown menu has a small glitch; the empty section at the bottom. Surprisingly, the otherwise identical StartIsBack doesn't appear to have the same problem.

Like StartIsBack, Start8 also includes selective disabling of hot corners, booting straight to the desktop, and other similar options. It does, however, have one trick up its sleeve that StartIsBack lacks. Instead of showing a regular Start menu, you can tell Start8 to instead show a Windows8-style menu. To do this, StartDock has simply placed the Start screen inside a borderless window on the desktop. The Start screen retains all its functionality, such as the options in the settings charm and the app bar that appears when you right click. It just occupies a fraction of the screen rather than the whole thing.

Enlarge/ Start8 lets you use the Start screen in a sort of window. If the Start screen were designed for portrait mode, this might work well. It isn't, and it doesn't.

The appeal of this isn't really clear to me. I could see how some derivative of this idea might work nicely enough, if you tightened up the spacing and scrolled vertically rather than horizontally (in other words, if you adapted the Start screen to fit into a roughly Start menu-sized area), but as things stand it's the worst of all worlds.

Start8 pricing starts at $4.99 per PC. I can't really see the appeal. If a Windows 7 Start menu is what you want, StartIsBack offers the same for less money. Start8's additional Start-screen-in-a-box menu doesn't add much value as things currently stand.

Start8 is also a whole lot less convenient. It requires Administrator rights to install and creates a system service. There appears to be no good way of restricting it to certain users, and if you want to use it on someone else's machine (for example, if you want a Start menu on a Windows 8-equipped corporate desktop) then you're out of luck.

Classic Shell

If the Windows 7 Start menu isn't to your taste, you might want to check out Classic Shell. Classic Shell strives to provide something altogether more old-school. Although it does have a Windows Vista/Windows 7-style menu, its raison d'être is harking back to yesteryear, with both a single column (Windows 2000-style) and dual column non-searchable (Windows XP-style) menu on offer. Unlike StartIsBack, which leverages Windows' own code to draw its menus, Classic Shell undertakes to perform all the drawing and layout itself. As a result, none of its menu options look quite right. They're immediately recognizable as knock-offs.

Enlarge/ Classic Shell's big virtue is that you can go right back in time to a Windows 2000-style menu, if you really want to.

I found this unfulfilled aspiration annoying to use. Nothing works the way it should, nothing looks the way it should. Personally, I would rather have an app that implemented its own concepts well, rather than poorly imitating someone else's concepts.

Classic Shell is also strongly influenced by the idiosyncrasies of its developer. Even when using a Windows Vista/Windows 7-style menu, the Programs folder is a conventional fly-out menu (as it was in Windows XP and below) rather than the weird in-line contraption that the newer operating systems use. It also has a second fly-out menu for Metro apps. If one prefers the fly-out menus, this is fine; if one wants the menu to simply behave like it did in Windows 7, it isn't. Similarly, although the Classic Shell menu has a search box, it doesn't work like its corresponding Windows 7 feature; it can only search the menu and system path. The Windows 7 search feature can be configured to search the entire machine, using the operating system's built-in content indexing.

Classic Shell has a couple of Windows 8-specific features; it can boot straight to the desktop and disable hot corners. It offers less fine-tuning here than StartIsBack. That program allows hot corners to be disabled individually; Classic Shell allows you to disable all of them, or just the bottom left (the hot corner that normally brings up the Start screen).

Enlarge/ Classic Shell has many, many settings spread across a multitude of tabs.

In addition to the Start menu workalike, Classic Shell also (optionally) adds toolbars to Internet Explorer and Explorer to reinstate or provide easier access to certain features. For example, the Explorer add-ons will replace the "conflict" dialog boxes when copying files with identical names with older versions and add a toolbar with cut, copy, and paste buttons. The Internet Explorer add-ons didn't appear to do anything in Internet Explorer 10 (perhaps unsurprising, as they're intended for Internet Explorer 9). The Explorer additions similarly seemed superfluous (at best) or unwanted (at worst). They're also ugly, as they fail to match the prevailing styling of the operating system.

Classic Shell's installation system is annoying. Technically, it works just fine when run as a regular app; it doesn't need Administrator rights or anything like that. However, just as with Start8, the installer requires Administrator rights and installs a system service. Allegedly this service is required to ensure that Classic Shell starts up quickly and can properly enable booting directly to the desktop (rather than to the Start screen). However, StartIsBack thoroughly debunks the notion that you need a service to do this, given that it boots straight to desktop with no service necessary.

Classic Shell is zero cost and open source. If you want an actual Windows 7 Start menu, skip Classic Shell. StartIsBack and Start8 both do the job much better. If you really hark back for the Windows XP Start menu, then Classic Shell is probably your best bet, but I'd have to wonder why anyone would want to give up search directly from the Start menu.

Granted my experience with the start screen is a mere 5 minutes at Costco, but it seemed to work OK for me. If you're click-navigating through the start menu, you're doing it the slow way anyhow. I start typing the program I want, then press Enter when I've narrowed the results down enough. This works equally well on the new start screen.

Many thanks for the reviews. Being told not to update to Windows 8 and miss out on its core updates and fundamental OS improvements because of an arbitrary Ui change is very disheartening. It is good to see that there are reasonable options available to bring back functionality while still gaining the improvements behind Windows 8. I will more strongly consider an upgrade with these options.

I must say that I don't have any of those programs. Tried the demo of Start8 but it's search just didn't work as Windows 7 to me. But I realized that the problem is Windows 8, not Start8. I hate the segregated search list. Every time I have to access something on the control panel, I press windows key by itself out of habit and then just press enter. More usual than not, I end up opening something weird. Old habits die hard I guess.

Start screen is usually out of my way enough that I just don't care, but it still bothers me that the start-screen search still breaks the mood when I go to it from the desktop.

Rant: I really hate metro apps. Visual Studio 2010 opens faster on my pc than the average metro app. This becomes even more annoying when resuming after getting suspended. Alt-tabbing to eclipse after hours (which is probably my sluggiest desktop app) is faster than to a suspended metro app.

I use W8 on my main desktop computer. While I do pretty much all my work in desktop mode, the Metro apps are often better for the kind of content "consumption" activity you do on tablets such as browsing news or watching video. The "immersive" experience of Metro not only looks more beautiful but also is easier on my eyes with big fonts and very little distractions.

And there are Metro apps like ESPN that push alerts to you just like on smartphones which is nice.

People who ignore the new Start screen completely are missing out on some nice innovations IMO.

I like the Start Screen Once you remove everything and add back what's useful but I still installed Classic Shell. I don't even use the start button that often I mostly live in steam and xbmc. Win+E gets me most of what I want.

If anyone uses Soluto they have a option to bring back the Start Menu. Have not used it myself because I took the time to adjust and get used to things but I remember seeing it there when taking a look at my PC Stats.

MS doesn't always understand the concept of consumer segmentation. If I want an apple product, I'll buy an apple product. But sometimes I want a microsoft like product and if you don't provide it...well screw you and your sales.

I installed win8 on my macbook. I didn't touch it for a while, but recently did to get a raspberry pi working (figured I'd do all the downloading and dodgy stuff on a partition I felt OK nuking).

While there are things I like a lot about win8, I find myself in oldfart mode, having trouble with simple tasks. Woulda been nice to have some documentation, or even a mode entitled, "oh you're an oldster trying out win8 for the first time..."

I had trouble finding the control panel (like finding the CD eject on a mac pro or the power on button on a mac II). I had trouble dealing with fullscreen IE versus the one that would open on the desktop (it's not really a desktop without the start menu though). Had trouble with the fullscreen "app" (not adobe reader?) that sprang up to show me a raspberry pi PDF. All sorts of troubles, compounded by half-hearted mac trackpad muscle memory (like knowing Japanese then trying to speak broken Russian).

I'm going to give it more of a chance, but it is heartening to know that I'm not the only one who misses the stupid start menu! Thanks for posting this article!

It is a bit off topic, but I am wondering if anyone else has had an issue with deleting a user account in Windows 8. I managed to do it from classic Control Panel, but for some reason certain parts of that user folder don't give up permissions, so you end up with remnants of a past user. Very odd.

So far, I prefer Classic Shell over anything. Sure, it looks a bit different than the rest of Windows 8, but that's a moot point for me since my Windows theme is modified and I never use Metro apps under any circumstances. I've always launched programs by searching the All Programs list, and this program's layout feels way less akward than Win 7's menu ever did. Not being able to disable induvidual hot corners can be problematic for some, but considering how many people like me want to avoid them at all costs, I'd hardly consider it a cardinal sin. I really appreciate it's customizable aspects as the built-in smoked glass theme is to die for.

In the end, it all boils down to personal preference. I'd advise anyone thinking on spending money on a start menu replacement to at least give Classic Shell. It may not suit your needs at all, or may suit them perfectly. All depends on what your tastes are.

I was using Windows 8 without any of these ever since the CP, it annoyed me alot but I tried to stick with it. It didn't help and as soon as I got the release version i got startisback and (except for some occasional blip) I have not seen metro part of it ever since. Its just like windows 7 (without the useless aero).

This isn't a case of people not wanting to change or revolting against change such as with the Windows 98/ME to XP or XP to VistaWin7 migrations. Microsoft put out a product called Windows 8 that focuses on a tablet class device and optimizes for touch based user input. That's great, unless you're using a desktop style computer or a laptop without the availability (or desire) of a touch enabled interface.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I would like to see a desktop edition of Windows 8 released. I personally believe that if Microsoft doesn't take a step back and gain a better and more accurate perception of the market this will ultimately be deemed by history to be a bigger folly than Windows Vista.

Windows 8 and Classic Shell are a fantastic combination. I really don't get the completely insulting, dismissive tone of the author of this article.

I've been really happy with Classic Shell, in that I want a simple program launcher without a lot of added complexity. And without having to lose the entire screen to do it. Class Shell in Classic mode does just that, and does it well.

While this won't get you back the classic menu, a classic tip is to right-click in the lower left corner in the screen.

Up pops a menu where all the familiar options are - Control Panel, Search, Run, etc. It's not a replacement for the start menu (as it doesn't include apps), but damn, it consolidates all the items that are hard to get to in Windows 8 because they're buried in the Charm bar.

So for the cheapskates and those that can't install apps - learn the metro start menu, and right-click the lower left corner of the screen to get a truncated "start" menu.

I don't see a need. The start menu is just full screen now and it is in the same location it has always been. The only difference is with the new UI you finally have multiple work spaces like Linux has had for years. This is a step in the wrong direction - backwards.

Not to mention your start screen has a giant button that says, "Desktop" for those unwilling to spend 10 seconds getting use to the hot corners.

the lengths to which people go to not adapt leaves me baffled sometimes.

Perhaps if it actually offered something truly compelling then there wouldn't be a market for such tools.

Im not disagreeing with you. I just want to point out that even bad ideas have a market. There is an option in Classic Shell to bring back Win2000, WinXP labyrinth context menus. People still using that are in a level of denial I cant possibly fathom...

For my Windows computers, I'm using Windows 8 full-time. I have it on my gaming desktop (complete with 3 screens), and on an ultrabook/tablet that I use extensively both at home and at work.

I agree with Peter at the end of this article by stating that I like to use the new Start Screen. However, I find it much more pleasant to use on my ultrabook rather than my desktop. I feel, though, that this is a symptom of the fact that my ultrabook is a single-monitor setup while my desktop has 3 screens, and the main display is in the center. Through the extensive use of hot corners in Windows 8, and the fact that I'm primarily looking at the center display on my desktop, accessing the charms bar and Start Screen are more difficult than simply having a Windows 7-style start menu and button. While there is corner trapping, I found it still to be too precise to be comfortable to use day-in and day-out, which is problematic because I shut it down every night and sometimes want quick access to the shutdown button as I had in Windows 7. Also, since I almost never use Modern UI/Metro apps on my desktop, I wanted it to go straight to the desktop, instead of the Start Screen.

I have been using Start8 (demo, and then paid) on my desktop almost since it was released, and I feel very comfortable with it. I tried it only to add a Start button to relieve my hotcorner woes, initially, but soon found that I was getting irritated with managing the simple location of the Start Screen on my triple-display setup (don't even get me started...), and wanted to do away with having to get to the charms bar. So, it's now set to bring up the Windows 7-style Start menu. I also have it send me straight to the desktop instead of putting me in the Start Screen, and I couldn't be more comfortable with it. I rarely ever see the Start Screen anymore. (Note: I got Start8 primarily because of its visibility to me; I've been using their Object Desktop suite of programs for many years, now.)

On my ultrabook, however, I considered installing it, but opted out. I never have the issues on it that I describe above. I do use the Charms bar and Start menu through touch, on occasion, but while I'm working at work, I primarily use the mouse-driven interface. I find that the simple difference of having reliable trapping at hot corners due to it being a single-screen setup makes the Windows 8 UI design at least as comfortable to use as the Windows 7-style Start Menu is on my triple-display desktop.

Of course, to each his own, but I do hope that Microsoft at least decides to eventually roll some of these features (straight-to-desktop, Start menu button) into Windows itself.

My experience of the Win8 start screen is that it doesn't look all that bad until you start installing desktop applications. There's no support for folder hierarchies so apps that install multiple icons (eg VS2012 which was built with Win8 in mind) clutter the start screen. On a 24" 1080p display my entire start screen is full after only installing VS2012 and 3DS Max.

Oh, and on a different note, the 1024x768 screen resolution requirement for WinRT applications is an absolute joke. No more connecting to 720p HDTVs and playing movies since the 720 pixel vertical resolution prevents the WinRT default Video application from launching (unless you manually configure it to use desktop players instead). Supporting "720p" 1366x768 laptops and ignoring actual 720p displays is unacceptable.

Windows 7, problem resolved. If you are missing your Start Menu why are you rewarding Microsoft for building such an asinine OS for a desktop / laptop. Either man up and deal with it, or don't use it. The problem is your average consumer wants it all and will throw a hissy fit if they don't get it. Welcome to choices in life.

My experience of the Win8 start screen is that it doesn't look all that bad until you start installing desktop applications. There's no support for folder hierarchies so apps that install multiple icons (eg VS2012 which was built with Win8 in mind) clutter the start screen. On a 24" 1080p display my entire start screen is full after only installing VS2012 and 3DS Max.

Oh, and on a different note, the 1024x768 screen resolution requirement for WinRT applications is an absolute joke. No more connecting to 720p HDTVs and playing movies since the 720 pixel vertical resolution prevents the WinRT default Video application from launching (unless you manually configure it to use desktop players instead). Supporting "720p" 1366x768 laptops and ignoring actual 720p displays is unacceptable.

If you're like me—happy with the Start Screen but unhappy that the Start Button is missing—have a look at my free and open source Start Button replacement: https://github.com/jjavery/Start Just pin it to your taskbar where the Start Button used to be.

I don't see a need. The start menu is just full screen now and it is in the same location it has always been. The only difference is with the new UI you finally have multiple work spaces like Linux has had for years. This is a step in the wrong direction - backwards.

Not to mention your start screen has a giant button that says, "Desktop" for those unwilling to spend 10 seconds getting use to the hot corners.

I agree. But I have noticed that there's a certain segment of population that just like to whine and waste time looking for PC problems to solve. Doesn't matter that they can learn the new UI in minutes, they must spend hours tweaking their PC to satisfy themselves. It's their pastime.

I really think this article goes over the top in maligning Classic Shell.

I use it in Windows 7 and I like it a lot.

It is essentially a work-alike and look alike with additional advantages over even the Win7 menu, and being totally Free and open source, it represents a reasonable first stop to check.

As far as some of the dire differences Peter highlights, many are small and I bet many people wouldn't notice most of them.

The biggest difference is the actually the biggest strength, which was totally ignored: The ability to completely organize your start menu shortcuts.

In Windows 7, if you don't want to organize your Start Menu, then Classic Shell likely has no point for you. It really seems strange to spend so much time ferreting a bunch of molehills to complain about, and fail to grasp the main point of Classic Shell.

I recently rolled out a couple Win8 platforms for a non-profit, and quickly learned to to hate the metro interface, and we found it in general to be a productivity killer.

After installing our suite of apps the Metro start screen quickly became cluttered with duplicates of the same program, and pretty much unusable. There's bug number one, so those of you who like Metro on a desktop must not run more than a typical kiosk of apps . We also learned that anytime the machine logs back to the Metro interface various running components would cease to run properly. If a screen saver password kicks in, and sends you back to the Metro Start screen even things like scheduled tasks suddenly have issues.

Basically Win8 is designed to be a single tasking GUI strapped onto Win7, and there's more conflict than is being admitted, so this goes beyond just an aethestic debate. Metro and the classic shell simply will not coexist.

Those of you saying just 'deal with it' and use absurdly inefficient context searches everytime you want to load an app not presented by a 2x3" tile can go back to DOS for all I care.

The only reason I upgraded -- 3 machines so far -- to Windows 8 was the availability of Classic Shell. It provides control of the system my users are accustomed to, avoiding learning a new paradigm. As far as I'm concerned, the Start menu is a nonstarter. And the price for Classic Shell is just right.

Personal computers are apparently personal. I have none of the reactions that Bright does to Classic Shell. But I don't expect aesthetics from Windows. Its always been a rough and ready, get on with it OS. With the exception of Aero, which is now gone ! The relief it provides in working the way I personally prefer lets me be satisfied with Windows 8. Otherwise, I wouldn't have changed over. And one machine was an XP version that I just couldn't stand to pay Microsoft's upgrade charge for Windows 7.

I don't see a need. The start menu is just full screen now and it is in the same location it has always been. The only difference is with the new UI you finally have multiple work spaces like Linux has had for years. This is a step in the wrong direction - backwards.

Not to mention your start screen has a giant button that says, "Desktop" for those unwilling to spend 10 seconds getting use to the hot corners.

I agree. But I have noticed that there's a certain segment of population that just like to whine and waste time looking for PC problems to solve. Doesn't matter that they can learn the new UI in minutes, they must spend hours tweaking their PC to satisfy themselves. It's their pastime.

Seriously, I mean, does someone actually need a Start menu to start programs? Most OSs don't. I sure hope the users complaining about the missing Start menu aren't also saying things like "I don't use a Mac because it's for non-technical users."